Mother's Day

Such a bittersweet day. I have such a fantastic Mom and a great Mother in Law that I really wanted to be happy and celebrate, but my heart is so broken today. I think I did okay at balancing them out. We ate dinner with the in-laws on Saturday night to celebrate and my MIL is really having a tough time (according to "A") so we didn't really "talk" about Mother's Day. We all just ignored the big elephant in the room and then we went along our merry way. It was nice. Right before we left "A" and I gave her our gift and she gave me a gift and asked me not to open it until Sunday.

"A" and I got both my mom and my MIL the James Avery remembrance ring in Ella Grace's birthstone. I thought that they would make a great pinky ring for the Grandmas. I was really worried about getting them something that was only "Ella Grace" and didn't want them to think I was forcing my sadness on them, but I think they both got it and were happy with the gift.

Today we got up and went to church. Can I just tell you how painful church was? It was excruciating. They had all the Mom's stand and be recognized and I felt so conspicuous standing there, but I knew that if I didn't stand I wouldn't be honoring Ella Grace. Then of course all of the prayers were about Moms and how special they were. To top it all off this girl sang a song about Moms and how they are there to hear each tiny heartbeat and they change the world by loving their kids. It was so hard, but I knew that today was going to be hard no matter where I was and I would have just as much rather been at church than anywhere else. While at church I, as always, was shown an outpouring of love and had so many precious ladies come and hug me and tell me Happy Mother's Day and that they were thinking of me today. I also got a really sweet card from a precious friend!

After Sunday School (which I need to have a whole post on that later) we went to lunch with my family. My parents and sis all got me really special cards. I can't even begin to tell you how much my little sisters words meant to me. I will cherish that card forever. They also got me the sweetest necklace.
This picture doesn't do it justice. My MIL had already given me the charm of the Mary Jane shoes, but today I got the charm with the little hand print and the stone for March birthdays (Ella Grace's birth month). My mom said, "Now you have her hands and feet covered and close to your heart." I LOVE IT!


After lunch "A" and I drove out to Ella Grace's spot and spent some time visiting with her. We brought her a bouquet of tiny little roses. My parents went and visited with her later and they brought pink roses and her Ninny Boo (my lil sis) brought her some yellow calla lillies. See how pretty they look!

She is such a loved little girl!

So, that's my Mother's Day wrap up! All in all, I am proud of how well I held it together, but I did fall apart many times. I think that's probably to be expected of a Mother who had to bury her daughter 2 months ago, so I am cutting myself some slack on this one (which I don't do that often).

I am so thankful for my daughter and for my mom and for my MIL who gave me my amazing husband.

Happy Mother's Day!